Processing facilities are often managed using process control systems. Example processing facilities include manufacturing plants, chemical plants, polymer plants, crude oil refineries, ore processing plants, and paper or pulp manufacturing and processing plants. Among other operations, process control systems typically manage the use of motors, valves, and other industrial equipment in the processing facilities.
In conventional process control systems, controllers are often used to control the operation of the industrial equipment in the processing facilities. The controllers could, for example, monitor the operation of the industrial equipment, provide control signals to the industrial equipment, and generate alarms when malfunctions are detected.
Model predictive control (MPC) technology is one type of control technology that has been developed and used in recent years. This type of control technology typically uses a linear model to represent a system to be controlled. A control algorithm uses the model and sensor data or other input data to determine how the system to be controlled is adjusted.